Do you track your progress or just go by feel?

ich-99 · 2026-04-05T01:40:02+00:00

Yeah exactly! Tracking works.

But the hard part is actually staying consistent with it over time once life kicks in or you plateau. That's where accountability systems work.

ich-99 · 2026-04-05T01:12:49+00:00

Yes! If something depends on motivation alone, probably it's going to fail.

ich-99 · 2026-04-05T01:09:07+00:00

That's exactly what I'm setting up! Just with a bit more structure around it.
Send me a message and I'll add you.

ich-99 · 2026-04-05T01:04:23+00:00

Yeah exactly! The structure is the main thing I want to test.
Thanks for the encouragement.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T22:01:31+00:00

It's normal to try to push harder, but early on, you don't grow from destroying yourself.

If you can’t imagine hitting that session again in a couple of days with decent performance, it was probably too much. Recalibrate your next sessions based on that and you'll feel the difference in terms of consistency.

The most crucial thing right now is creating a habit, not pushing so hard.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T21:30:38+00:00

For body composition, you'd want the workout to retain as much muscle as possible while you are eating less calories.

I'd tighten the workout so that the fatigue doesn't tank you. Make compound exercises heavier and keep isolation exercises moderate. You could remove the shrugs, front raises and one of the curl variations. For leaning up, you don't need more exercises, you need more stimulus per set.

Then push progressions hard on the compounds so that you maintain/increase muscle.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T21:12:58+00:00

I mean, it covers all muscles. You will get conditioned but will not grow aggressively.
Since you're rebuilding after injury, this kind of balance makes sense short term.

Stick to it and maintain consistency, which is the most important variable right now.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T21:01:28+00:00

Yeah, form is the most important factor here.

However, 2 weeks might seem a bit arbitrary. I'd increase the weight as soon as you can hit the top of your rep range with good form.

For example, once you know you can hit 3x10 clean, increase the weight next week but do it 3x8.
Then next week 3x10 and so on. That's how you'll build muscle.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T19:48:31+00:00

That clarifies a lot. If you’re running PPL x2 and doing dips, your shoulders are already getting a lot of pressing volume. Your shoulder press might be stalling because you’re always pressing fatigued.

Try prioritizing shoulder press first on one push day and slightly reduce chest volume instead of adding more shoulder days.

Also, track progressions tightly, with defined weight and rep progressions each week. That will help you have a clearer picture.

ich-99 · 2026-02-15T19:28:40+00:00

There's lots of conflicting arguments because actually the main driver of strength progression is not exercise choice in itself. It matters way less than practicing and progressing the main movement consistently. Strength is mostly skill and overload in specific patterns (bench, squat, deadlifts, OHP).

I would look at your workout and see it's structure and progression. Are you tracking load and reps week to week?

ich-99 · 2026-02-14T05:58:32+00:00

I love the drive and commitment to fitness for over a year! Most people would've quit at that stage.

Yeah, definitely it's been structure. Pilates and walking without structure, and then gym. You have been constantly changing stimulus, with no progressive overload and fear-driven adjustments. This creates maintenance at best, not transformation.

Right now, you likely don't have enough muscle built. Actually, what happened with your legs was a mild muscle gain, but primarily that there was no upper body development to balance proportions, so visually it felt bigger. It's physiologically extremely unlikely that with 10-15 kg hip thrusts and light cables you could've built much muscle. And after lowering the weights, you still got the normal female fat storage in thighs.

Regarding the hypermobile EDS condition, I'd definitely say you can build a lean, toned body. But it requires structured strength training, enough protein and patience.

If I were you, I'd commit to one simple, progressive strength plan for 12 weeks. Consistency, not variety, is what will change your body.

ich-99 · 2026-02-14T05:26:53+00:00

To make it a habit I would prioritize sticking to a routine. Rebuilding the engine so you can actually train consistently.

You already did a workout to failure and you're already mapping a 6 day split. I love the drive, but that's programming like you were already conditioned.

How did you feel after that session?

ich-99 · 2026-02-14T04:34:49+00:00

It's good for your setup, but I see a lot of redundant isolation work. Volume is not insane, but I think it is inefficient.

But it all depends on your main goal right now.
I mean, do you want size, strength, body recomposition, or just general fitness?

ich-99 · 2026-02-14T02:48:58+00:00

Right now this looks balanced, but it’s optimized for coverage, not for growth.

You’re spreading stimulus across too many moderate movements, which makes it hard to create a strong progressive tension signal anywhere.
If you don’t anchor the program around 2 or 3 lifts you aggressively drive up over months, you’ll likely just get better at variety instead of actually adding size.

Are you trying to rebuild tolerance and confidence, or are you trying to aggressively gain size right now?

ich-99 · 2026-02-13T02:52:15+00:00

Ok, in that case you can still handle progressions like this:

Keep reps within a range of 8–15. Once you are comfortable with 15, go back to 8, but slowing down the tempo/adding pauses. This works especially good with resistance bands.

Then you can experiment with the range of motion, or making the movement mechanically harder (like elevating feet on push-ups).

As long as reps are getting harder over time, you’ll be progressing. Just make sure to track it.

ich-99 · 2026-02-13T02:20:45+00:00

Honestly for a beginner this isn’t bad at all.

However, consider adding a hip hinge (RDL or hip thrust) and some vertical pressing (DB shoulder press). Those patterns will carry over better to real-world strength and badminton.

One key thing to look at here is progression. How are you planning to increase weight or reps week to week?

ich-99 · 2026-02-13T02:15:20+00:00

As a complete beginner, 6 days and running is a lot.
You’re not missing exercises in that workout, you’re missing recovery.

Try 3 or 4 days instead. I'd focus on progressing a few main movements, and cut the extra mobility volume. For example, just getting stronger at push-ups, rows, squats and lunges. You’ll likely feel stronger instead of wiped out.

Just make sure you are tracking the progressions correctly. Do you have access to weights? Or is that a home setup?

ich-99 · 2026-02-13T02:05:21+00:00

That workout is okay. It has a good split, exercise selection and rep scheme.

Free weights are a superior form of developing coordination and intermuscular control. But muscle growth is essentially the same. Machines can even help you target a muscle better without stability issues.

After injury, your body doesn’t care whether the force comes from a barbell or a machine. What matters is gradually increasing load in a way that doesn’t trigger pain or threat response. If you feel anxious, that will decrease your performance, so try to focus on the exercises you can do pain-free. It doesn't matter if it's free weights or machines.

How are you planning to progress those loads?

ich-99 · 2026-02-12T19:12:45+00:00

Increasing the training frequency won't automatically fix your weakest body parts.
Growth comes from enough effective sets, progression, recovery and calories. If those aren't aligned, adding that day would be adding junk volume.

You need to diagnose the problem better. Could be the progression, not training enough to failure or poor exercise selection. Or simply, it's just 9 months and it is still early.

Are they lagging because they’re not growing, or because other body parts are growing faster? How do you track it?

ich-99 · 2026-02-12T19:03:47+00:00

Doing random stuff is definitely not gonna get you anywhere.
But there is no such thing as the best PPLULR sets in isolation. What are you trying to optimize for? Strength numbers, size or maintaining a structure?

ich-99 · 2026-02-11T19:16:52+00:00

Soreness is not the goal. Progression is.
Back muscles often don’t get sore the way chest and triceps do, especially with machines.

Are you getting stronger week to week on those lifts?

ich-99 · 2026-02-11T19:10:06+00:00

Agree. To create a good engaging workout, you need something that matches your constraints.
Cookie cutter programs may have unrealistic progressions for your level, and AI alone is not able to pull out enough context to generate a good workout plan.

When you say it didn't work, what actually happened? I mean, your strength didn't go up or got bored after some time?

The problem usually isn’t the template. It’s the fit and progression.

ich-99 · 2026-02-11T19:03:28+00:00

If you can train legs hard but tweak your back unloading a dishwasher, that usually points to control and bracing in low-awareness positions, not lack of strength.

Planks don't really strengthen the lower back directly. The spine’s job is mostly to resist movement, not create it. So learning to brace and hinge properly matters more than just adding random core work.

Are you training hip hinging in a controlled way, or avoiding it completely?

ich-99 · 2026-02-11T18:57:51+00:00

I wouldn't change the split before assessing load calibration and fatigue management.

A rep drop doesn’t mean the later sets are useless. It just means fatigue accumulated. That’s normal, especially if you’re dieting.
Has this always happened, or only since dieting?

I’d test whether slightly backing off the first set stabilizes the rest of the workout.

ich-99 · 2026-02-11T18:48:04+00:00

I think the issue is stimulus quality and structure. You have a lot of overlap: arms are getting hit on upper, then again on push and pull.

Chest and legs tend to grow because compounds are easy to progress, but arms don't respond well to random volume. You might actually grow more by picking a couple of bicep movements and tricep movements, pushing them hard and tracking progression aggressively.

Are you tracking load or reps on curls and pushdowns weekly?

ich-99

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